Fish basket



March 28,- 1939. M. DICKSON FISH BASKET Filed Sept. v8, 1937 m T N w m A TTORNE Y5:

Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIS SKE LaurenceM. Dickson, San Francisco, Calif.

Ap licat on e em e 8 19 Serial o- 1 2 99 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a fish basket and its principal object is to provide a combination fish .basket and pocket for fishing tackle arranged in such a manner that the pocket is particularly accessible and convenient for opening and closing operations when the basket is in operative position upon the body of a person.

Fish baskets of this character are conventionally supported, by any suitable means, upon the left hip section of the body and a pocket is provided upon the outer face of the basket .to accommodate Various fishing utensils.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an opening and closing means for the pocket that may be easily operated by the left hand when the basket is in the proper position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an opening and closing means for the pocket that will leave the upper edges of the pocket unobstructed for ready'access when the pocket is open.

It is further proposed to provide certain improvements in the attaching means for the pocket which facilitates the use of the proposed opening and closing means.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

The preferred forms of my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 shows a perspective View of my combination basket and pocket,

Figure 2, a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3, a similar fragmentary vertical section illustrating a modified form of the invention.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of the invention I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the basket I may be of any suitable form consistent with the purposes for which it is to be used and is here illustrated as being substantially rectangular in outline, comprising a bottom 2, a rear wall 3, end walls 4 and a front 5, the end walls preferably curving into the front wall as shown in the perspective view.

A cover 6 is hinged to the rear wall, preferably by a leather strap 1, and overlies the upper edge of the basket, which preferably slants downward from the rear edge to the front edge as indicated in the drawing. The front of the cover preferably projects slightly beyond the front of the basket to form an overhang ,8. A hole 9 is provided in the cover through which the fish may be introduced and the cover is fastened upon the basket by a strap l0. a

The front of the basket has a pocket II fastened thereto. In the form shown in Figure l, the pocket is relatively fiat to take up little space and to fit against the front of the basket. It is made of two flexible side members l2 and I3 suitably joined at the bottom and along the ends? by a flexible, expansible connecting member I4.

I One of the side members is fastened upon the front face of the basket by means of four strap-s l5 and buckles l6. Referring particularly to the 15 upper straps, it will be noted that they project from the near side member I? and below the upper edge of the pocket so that the latter edge is relatively free to move toward and away from the basket, while at the same time the upper edges of the side members are'free to move relative toone another when they are not interlocked.

While the side members l2 and I3 are permanently joined by the member I4 along the bottom and the ends of the pocket, the upper edges of the side members are provided with an opening and closing means which is operable from one end of the pocket to the? other and preferably extends around the curved upper corners [8 of the pocket a considerable distance down the ends of the pocket as at l9.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an opening and closing means for the pocket, which is operable from end to end, and which leaves the upper edges of the pocket clear of obstructions for ready access when the pocket is open; Any suitable opening and closing means may be used for the purpose, but I prefer to use the arrangement known in the trade as a zipper as illustrated at 20 in the different figures.

It is well known in the art that a zipper arrangement comprises two parallel series of elements adapted forinterlocking engagement and a slide which interlocks the elements when moved in one direction and unlocks the same when moved in the opposite direction.

.To successfully use an arrangement of this type, it is necessary that each of the edges to be joined have a certain flexibility and freedom of movement relative to theother and relative to a supporting medium and it will be noted from the foregoing description that in my invention the pocket is mounted upon the basket to provide for this freedom of movement.

It 'will further be noted that in my arrangement the overhang 8 extends part way over the pocket and that, when the pocket is opened, the upper edges are entirely unobstructed so that the hand of the operator sliding downward over the cover is guided directly by the overhang into the inside of the pocket.

In the form shown in Figure 3 the pocket 25 is of slightly difierent construction. No straps are used for fastening the pocket upon the basket and the front wall 26 of the latter is used to form the lower portion of the near side of the pocket, while a strip 21 of leather or other flexible material .is used as the upper portion of the side.

This strip is fastened upon the basket, by stitching or otherwise, along the bottom edge thereof, as shown at 28, so as to again leave'the upper edge of the pocket free to move toward and away from the basket and to leave the upper edges of the two side members free to flex and move in response to movements of the zipper slide.

It is apparent that the strip 2! may be made .wide enough to form a complete side for the pocket and may be stitched to the front of the basket all over, as long as the edge carrying the opening and closing means is left sufficiently free and flexible to produce the condition outlined hereinabove.

It should be further understood that while my invention has been particularly described as applying the opening and closing means to the upper edge of the pocket as the most logical and convenient place the said means might be applied to other edges or the outer side of the pocket without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a fish basket, a pocket secured upon the basket so as to leave the upper edge and part of the end sections of both the front and rear members of the pocket free of the basket for defining free flaps having independent movement toward and away from the basket, the upper section presenting two flexible and separable side members giving access to the pocket, and means movable from one end of the pocket to the other for interlocking the upper edges of the side members, the freeness of the upper section of the pocket permitting of free movement of the upper edges during the interlocking operation relative to one another and relative to the basket.

2. In combination, a fish basket having a cover, a pocket secured to the basket with the upper edge of the pocket substantially on a level with the upper edge of the basket, the upper edge of the pocket being slit to provide two separable side members giving access to the pocket, the cover when closed being disposed to guide a person's hand sliding downward over the cover directly into the pocket, and fastening means for interlocking the two members arranged to leave the upper edge of the member free for access to the pocket.

3. In combination, a fish basket, a pocket secured upon the basket so as to leave one entire edge andpart of the two adjacent ends of both the front and rear members of the pocket free of the basket for independent movement toward and away from the basket, the section of the pocket between said end parts and said edge presenting two flexible and separable members giving access to the pocket and means movable from one end of the section to the other for interlocking the members, the freeness of the section permitting of free movement of the two members during the interlocking operation relative to one another and relative to the basket.

LAURENCE -M. DICKSON. 

